Easter’s Promise

I awoke at 7:30 a.m. hurriedly dressed in my new kurta and ventured out in the already hot day… 80 degrees maybe? The streets this Easter Morning are quiet. With fewer people filling the streets, the condition of the surroundings, the remnants from the prior day… garbage strewn about, smoldering piles of garbage, newspapers, construction materials, piles of all kinds, buildings in various states of disrepair, all much more noticeable. “Ari’s puppy,” one he has been feeding since Sheila and his arrival, is wandering down the street, now sporting a red collar, indicating the love that Sheila and Ari gave was carried on by a local person, and she is no longer a homeless dog. The bowls that Sheila bought to feed the dogs, still on the sidewalk, filled daily for the dogs that live on this corner… eating better than some people close by.

We had all hoped to go to the local Easter service, but the healing process is following it’s own schedule, so I went alone while Ari and Dannie continue to allow healing to occur. I arrived to find that the service was in Hindi, walked home visiting tombs built in the 1300’s and back again , later to the English service. While I was unable to understand all of the message, sandwiched between families, overflowing to outside, the heat was challenging me to stay hydrated, and conscious… the message of Joy that surpasses circumstances was affirming of my experience.

Dadi-Poti's Tomb on Easter Morning Walk

After church, Ari met me for a latte at Coffee Costa… the Delhi Starbucks. It being my birthday, Clint, Ari’s caregiver, came by on a friend’s motorcycle, to deliver a beautiful bouquet of red roses and yellow gerber daisies… more than a day’s pay and so unexpected, and a heartfelt card… Ari presented a card, as did Dannie and Kyler later in the day… the sentiments of which deeply touched me… I am so blessed with love.

Birthday Flowers from Clint!!!

Easter celebration at the Clinic

Dannie was unable to get up today, so Ari and I went to dinner… on a roof top, a wonderful restaurant atop a building that is more than 3/4rd empty, and largely unfinished. The air was still atleast seventy degrees, and wonderful.

Monday Night:

Dannie is resting just now, a welcome relief after forty eight hours of no real sleep, no hiatus from pain at a “ten”. She is resting, not sure if sleeping… and certainly will not risk checking!

Too often lately I have thought her to be sleeping, only to find later that she was fully aware of everything, but trying so hard to rest, and sometimes immobilized by pain and/or unable to speak or move. Other times she is in a sleep/awake state of vivid like night mares, that seem so real that they are like hallucinations, but not really. Not restful either. She has had two episodes of four and five hrs of sleep since our arrival. Everything else has been forty minutes to two hours at best.

Clearly and certainly, that we are doing the right thing. While her suffering continues, this trip has saved Dannie’s life. The path she was on with American Medicine opportunities was spiraling downward. We are all so grateful to be here and believe in the healing that is happening and witnessed.

That said: Dannie has been to putting everything she has into handling pain levels that do not go below nine and a half, and little to no sleep; she has accomplished taking two showers (enormous events of shower chair, building a dam so that the water doesn’t spread all over the floor, ninety minutes of trying to untangle and comb her hair that has been knotted in a five inch wide dred lock which threatened to require her hair to be cut) slow, laborious, body temperature rollercoaster, sweating \ shivering, painful shower… and three times she has been able to totter and tilt into the wheel chair to leave the room, each for about fifteen minutes. That is it… since we arrived. And those times have been glorious and celebrated. She hoped to go to a shopping mall saturday night, but the shower literally took three hours, and that was it and beyond what she should have done. She has been “paying” for it since then with pain. If she moves her limbs in the bed, it feels like rug burn to her. She tries not to move to avoid muscle joint and bone pain… the noise from outside which is constant, is a form of torture, and her body heat regulation problems are being tested with the imposing heat. None the less, she agreed to a brief session of occupational therapy today which amounted to a face massage-like treatment and exercising her hands. Physical therapy wasn’t possible today.

It is a delicate balance between trying to give the stem cells the best environment and to manage her symptoms, goals which can be at cross purposes.

All that said, there is progress, if it is only that she is coping amazingly with higher levels of pain, while the stem cells are being pumped into her and are staking out their new “worksites” The sixth week is often pivotal for lyme patients… that is next week. That said, we met a German patient today that has also been sick with Lyme for twelve years, and she did not experience improvement until six weeks after getting home. She is back for her second round now, and though improved, she is still on the uphill climb, thus the need for several episodes of treatment for patients who have experienced years of damage from Lyme.

The goal is to have this trip (dannie’s first and ari’s first and second rolled into one) paid for by the end of August, so that we can focus on raising funds for Nov/Dec return trips.

After an amazing experience of reduced pain and increased energy, Ari is now experiencing an expected dip in improvement and return to retracing. He is pretty tired, back hurting again, and more stressed with Dannie and me here. He cares so much for Dannie, it is hard for him to see her suffering. We are talking a lot about his support and love for her, and him protecting his own healing process. Pretty challenging stuff. With the anticipation of being better, and having “tasted” it, he is beginning to try to conceptualize how he will proceed in his life. This has led to some anxiety and sense of overwhelm about how to pick back up his life… so much missed, so much to do… trying to challenge the concept of “catching up” and deal with the normal feelings a twenty four year old man feels about wanting to find his place in the world, to accomplish, to contribute, to be independent…. He desperately does not want to return to life the way it was… and has yet to test out how his body will function… it will be a transition, and take patience… physical therapy, learning to find an new balance and process for self regulation… decisions about continued lyme treatment, school/work, working toward returning to India and continued stops and starts in his life rebuilding process.

Skyping Michael at Home

All great and welcomed challenges to face! but daunting.At the onset of improved health does not come a “normal life” but a new set of challenges. He won’t be dropped into a 24 year old’s life, and can’t pick up where he left off at 12 years old. It will have to be a “one of a kind” development with more learning about acceptance, flexibility, and wonder.

Lots of prayer, lots of listening, lots of handing control over to God… again and again.

Joy is a part of every day. Deeply Experienced Every day. Love is billowing around and in us. There is peace among the turmoil. There is laughter. There is contentment There is tremendous awe. We continue to be in awe that God has brought us this far, and has enlisted so many people to help. We pray for sleep and reduced pain. For healing on all levels: physical, emotional , spiritual, financial, educational, occupational… even recreational HEALING!!! And it is happening right now…

Thanks for sharing, once again! Such an amazing journey the three of you are on and so thankful your hope is ultimately in God……..will cont. praying for peace, healing, miracles and blessings from His hand through many wonderful people. Renee’

Background In the fall of 2001, Ari and Imani (Dannie) became very ill. This caused them to be unable to attend school, due to tremendous pain and discomfort. Subsequent to a flood caused by a pipe burst in their San Carlos, California, home, toxic mold growth was discovered, to which their ... Continue reading →